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I've found that, while many example of such type A transplants do exist, they don't represent the majority of people I have met. I've met many people who just punch in and punch out of work like anyone else and were average students.
Out of all the people I've met here so far, only one (maybe 2) fits the "Group 2" description. The rest like their jobs (if not love it), and sure they'll talk about it if you ask, but it by no means defines them. They're proud of themselves because they worked hard, but they're just as proud for you too. As long as you don't want to shoot yourself when you get up for work every morning and somewhat like what you do, good for you. As for school, again most I know really don't care. Nearly everyone I work with went to state schools, and most of my friends haven't gotten straight A's since junior high (B's aren't so bad, and an infrequent C can be brushed to the back).
Overall, they're low-key, chill, friendly people who are happy just to meet new people and have a good time. Maybe my friends are just weird...
People leave profiles blank to bette protect identity (and b/c doing so requires effort)!
This area has way too many people to broadly generalize them. It might be possible to come up with a few groups (3-5) that may encompass a large % of the population, but labeling the majority of people as X, Y or Z is difficult.
I don't know if it's b/c I'm shy or I let the 'Type A, driven, overachiever, blah, blah blah' fight song hold me back, but I don't often strike up conversation with strangers. That said, when I do initiate random chats, it's usually well-received. Even when people aren't interested and would like for me to f*** off, they indicate that in a nice way.
I don't know if it's b/c I'm shy or I let the 'Type A, driven, overachiever, blah, blah blah' fight song hold me back, but I don't often strike up conversation with strangers. That said, when I do initiate random chats, it's usually well-received. Even when people aren't interested and would like for me to f*** off, they indicate that in a nice way.
I totally understand, I'm the shy type too. Most people I've met through friends or coworkers and just networked from there. For the first few months I'd just say "yes" to every casual invite, pretend to be interested in any conversation (if I wasn't), and forced myself to be more outgoing (which is to say, I probably hit the "normal" level instead of my introverted normal self). My roommate's helped, since we both developed multiple "groups" of new people and then started melding them together. Kickball helped a lot, since you saw the same group of new people over and over again, and you had at least something in common to strike up a conversation.
When I said the 'type A...' I meant that maybe it's the perception I have of OTHERS being like that keeps me from being more outgoing. I didn't mean that about myself.
I do, however, think that Type A stereotype is totally overblown as it that of most peopple in this area being workaholics. I went out this AM around 7 and the streets were completely empty. At 9AM, though, you'll see tons of people just arriving to work. On weekends, hardly anyone is working.
I live in Arbutus, Maryland. Although the market is soft and I don't think it is the best time to buy...I recommend that you keep your eye on the area. I walk to the MARC train. I sit for 45 minutes but I pull out my computer and I sometimes wish we were not there yet. The houses in the neighborhood average about 350,000. The people are down to earth and friendly. (Not toooo friendly...lol) I feel your pain though. I say this because I am presently unable to sell my house that is a 4 1/2 hour TOTAL commute each day. I just about almost killed myself dealing with that until some good friends offered me a room. I am still temporarily in the area and I go home on the weekends. BUT...when I read your post...it seems to me that you don't have the house in Colonial Beach...you just don't know about taking the train to Arbutus, Md. or even Halethorpe. And if 45 minutes each way seems like too much- take note of all the things you can do when you ARE NOT DRIVING... that make the time well spent. Just watch out....cause when I do sell my house...I will be looking to relocate to this area to make my commute to DC where I too LOVE MY JOB enough to go through HELL to keep it. But you....man ... 7 years? I must tell you that I meet a lot of nice people. Yes, there are the ones you speak of but...I literally keep bumping into three people in particular that I LOVE to see. Just nice interesting people that make me laugh.
So...google it. Zip code 21227 or 21228 in Maryland for a commute to DC or even better if you work in Baltimore. And there ... if you work in Baltimore...those people are a bit nasty but....you put your shades on, your MP3 player...buy yourself a laptop with a good battery....and ALWAYS WEAR COMFORTABLE SHOES. Public transportation is subsidized by the Gov...right?
So...google it. Zip code 21227 or 21228 in Maryland for a commute to DC or even better if you work in Baltimore. And there ... if you work in Baltimore...those people are a bit nasty but....you put your shades on, your MP3 player...buy yourself a laptop with a good battery....and ALWAYS WEAR COMFORTABLE SHOES. Public transportation is subsidized by the Gov...right?
Good luck to you I wish you well.
You know, I used to actually live in Baltimore until very recently. Much to my surprise, I found myself missing the city after I left for a dull, yet closer suburb. I would hardly recommend Baltimore to most people as it is a very rough city facing myriad problems and exorbitant crime, but the city certainly did have a charm and personality all its own that I don't see much of in D.C.
So, that's not to say I'm a poor provincial transplant who just isn't suited for cities in general, because Baltimore is hardly my first, there's just something very specific about D.C. that I find lacking in comparison to those other metropolitan areas.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bluefly
Well, as someone firmly entrenched in Group 2, I can assure you no one who actually knows me has ever called me the repulsive names or generalizations coldbliss charges.
This is what happens when people stare at each other across cultural divides. They turn the other side into abhorent monsters who become cartoonish caricatures of human beings. It's happening in our national politics and it's happening in DC because there is such a large contingent of outsiders that make it difficult for locals to define their own city. It's not like other one industry cities like Detroit or Houston where the locals are integrated into that industry. The locals in DC become outsiders in their own city, so it's understandable that this type of anger emerges, but shouldn't devolve into this sort of name calling.
Coldbliss is absolutely right that the transplants come not to gain money but to have an influence on society. Whether this is good or bad I guess is up to the individual to decide. Wanting to make the world a better place and commiting one's life to doing so rather than working an unfulfilling job and complaining about problems in the world does not make one a bad person.
Many of those "a** holes" have committed their lives to understanding and erradicating terrorism, war, poverty, and environmental destruction. They're at the top of their fields of expertise. A couple I know were shot at and bombed trying to save children from war zones. Others have been soldiers fighting all over the world. Others have done groundbreaking research on wildlife populations and political structures.
I guess you can dismiss that as elitist (which is really what "fantastic ego and insufferable personality means), but be sure to also dismiss the professional athletes on the Redskins as elitists also. For some reason, our society only seems to celebrate those who rise to the top if they're entertaining us. These aren't bad people, just motivated to do something beyond themselves with their lives.
You'll either love DC for what it is or hate it. You're just reading a lot of people who need somewhere to vent. I could introduce you to many more who think DC is the best place they could ever imagine living.
First of all, this was a fantastic post and I'm very glad I took had the opportunity to stumble upon it. I am certainly in the category of "bright-eyed idealists" you describe, and it was what brought me to an area of the country I'd have never otherwise considered, the area I now find so distasteful.
I actually feel bad for D.C. naitives in a lot of ways because of how completely they've been displaced from their own city; either economically driven into the wilds of Prince George's, or completely ignored and languishing in the decades-old sea of blood that is S.E. I'd be very surprised to find a D.C. native actually inhabiting some pristine slice of Georgetown or Foggy Bottom as opposed to some lobbyist. I attended a university program at one of the city's institutions and was completely amazed at the lack of anyone who claimed to be from D.C. proper; could you imagine the outrage if UVa had absolutely ZERO Virginia residents in attendance?
Additionally, I wanted to comment on the "cultural divide" in that us self-admitted "idealists" versus the natives are not the only sides involved in this, there is a substantial class of politicos, lobbyists, CEO's, their trust-fund children, and other types who have grown extremely wealthy from government largesse who also inhabit the town and bring their own set of manners and attitudes. I would imagine these individuals make a more substantial contribution to the perceptions of how people behave here than the more transient intern population. It's an admitted oversimplification to boil this all down to class struggles, but there are few places I've seen outside of the third-world where the income divide is so steep and readily apparent than D.C. That can do little else in the end but breed mutual contempt.
Out of all the people I've met here so far, only one (maybe 2) fits the "Group 2" description. The rest like their jobs (if not love it), and sure they'll talk about it if you ask, but it by no means defines them. They're proud of themselves because they worked hard, but they're just as proud for you too. As long as you don't want to shoot yourself when you get up for work every morning and somewhat like what you do, good for you. As for school, again most I know really don't care. Nearly everyone I work with went to state schools, and most of my friends haven't gotten straight A's since junior high (B's aren't so bad, and an infrequent C can be brushed to the back).
Overall, they're low-key, chill, friendly people who are happy just to meet new people and have a good time. Maybe my friends are just weird...
Where the hell are these people you talk about so lightly and generously of. I don't doubt they're out there, but they damn sure don't make themselves known, at least in the inner parts of DC (NW/uptown, Bethesda/Potomac, Arlington, Alexandria); or maybe they're the same ones who commute back to Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William after work hours, for those are the only places where I have seen an abundant amount of "normal and genuine people" who want to meet new people, have a good time, and rallying for causes that have the betterment of humanity and America at mind. But from what I've seen, the ones who dominate the immediate urban DC core (including those who attend the school I go to now and aspire to stay in DC after graduation) are the yuppies who were well-described in 2nd category as arrogant, power-trip-living A-holes who live off of their parents, brag about going to the most elitist schools, and lobbying for some organization that serves the interest of their own (or their own kind/people/income bracket/etc.).
Quote:
Originally Posted by somnambulist
Additionally, I wanted to comment on the "cultural divide" in that us self-admitted "idealists" versus the natives are not the only sides involved in this, there is a substantial class of politicos, lobbyists, CEO's, their trust-fund children, and other types who have grown extremely wealthy from government largesse who also inhabit the town and bring their own set of manners and attitudes. I would imagine these individuals make a more substantial contribution to the perceptions of how people behave here than the more transient intern population.
This is the population that I definitely see more of in the inner parts of DC and in my nearby university (and the population that I have more of anguish towards as seen above). I realize that there are interns who come here to rally and fight for noble causes, but I've mostly seen them (as the majority) in westward suburbs of Northern VA.
Quote:
Originally Posted by somnambulist
It's an admitted oversimplification to boil this all down to class struggles, but there are few places I've seen outside of the third-world where the income divide is so steep and readily apparent than D.C. That can do little else in the end but breed mutual contempt.
Just my two cents...
QFT! That is all!
Last edited by Do a Barrel Roll; 10-17-2008 at 06:30 PM..
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I wish you well.
